Why do I even bother?

[CoffeaRobusta]

Fished Newport Pier last night with the gf. People were slaying the p.macks and the j.macks, but I wasn't interested in those so I fished the bottom. Had fun and caught 3 scorpionfish--all short--a couple of staghorns, and a thornback. Had the hoop out too and caught a diversity of crabs, including three types of rock crab. Only one was big enough to bother with though so I kept that one. The biolumenesence that's been hanging around for weeks now is still going on. We watched a sea lion make a big blue streak in the water, in front of the sea lion smaller streaks would radiate outwards like fireworks as smaller fish ran for their lives. Great night to be out. Cool but little wind.

Ok so time for the rant..... :soapbox:
What's the point of me tossing back my fish because they're short of the minimum only to see people leaving with bucket loads of short fish? Why do people ask me to give them my short fish right after I tell them that it's not legal and I'm tossing it back? Why do morons who should know better use way more rods than they are suppposed to? And why does the vast majority of people on piers judge you by what you got in your bucket? just cuz my bucket's empty doesn't mean i ain't caught nothin. dam I know it shouldn't bother me but it does. Ok, I'm done now. In the end I think I need to stop fishing piers on the weekend.

[christainmetalhead909]

i agree, people on piers can be really rude, inconsiderate and just plain stupid. i hate it when people take buckets of 4 to 7 in fish. glad to hear you caught some fish though.

[remso]

I think most of them boil the whole fish for chowder. DFG could write so many tickets but I doubt they would ever get paid.

[ikeman]

I agree with you, it is frustrating when you see so many others not doing the right thing. :bang: :bang: I hope those people absolutely need the fish for food and not out of ignorance of the law or common sense. I remember when I was young growing up on the East Coast and catching bluefish in the inlets during the fall runs. Fish everywhere! Anything you toss, every cast would produce a fish. People would fill up their igloo's and let all the other fish they caught laying on the ground and just leave! What a waste. Most were caught on lures and could easily been released. (Blues are not that good eating anyways, very dark meat on the big ones and oily. Good smoked though.) Seriously, hundreds of fish left at the jetties and breakwalls. This was in the '70's. Wonder what the fall runs are like now with that type of conservation efforts never being enforced? Just keep doing your part and remember you know what you've caught! Good job and keep it up! If you feel strongly, the next time you see DFG, tell them of the spot, what's happening and have them check it out at night. Maybe they will do their job. Maybe not.

Merry Christmas!!

[willis949]

You have to consider that you are going to run into the bottom of the food chain on piers anyways.You dont have to have a license to fish there and all you need is a couple of dollars worth of bait to catch dinner for a week.Next time you are going to the pier you should consider the docks instead.At least there you need a license there which eliminates 1/2 of the people and 1/4 of the others dont even know about the docks.You wont catch macs every cast and you can park 20-30 feet away so if you are so inclined you can run back to your car for a refreshing drink.Every time I go to the pier I say I am never coming back but its like drinking tequila,after a little time goes by you forget what a disaster it was and you do it again.

[mg2969]

I agree with Ikeman, although from Jersey I like bluefish if it prepped right.
Those same folks were also the ones that decimated the blue claw crab fishery during the 70s and 80s
:bang:

[KaliDawgFan]

Have DFG on speed dial and report them.

[RUSSO]

It can be very depressing fishing at the pier, any pier. You will see people keep undersized fish, keep too many fish, kill everything they bring up for absolutely no reason at all (usually by slamming it onto the ground), throw their trash right off the pier into the ocean, and of course leave their bait and cigarette butts when they leave. The best is when I go down to catch and release a few Bonito, the second I bring one up, the area I'm in gets taken over by these degenerates casting right where I caught it. Then they see me release it, and they just cant believe it, I had one guy tell me " you no put fish back, you give to me" he then got a plastic bag out of the trash and waited for me to give him fish, "No Bro, I am releasing all these fish" He storms off all mad, Hilarious. Best move I ever made was buying my Kayak. RUSSO

[Ray Lopez]

yea i say you call the dfg when you see that and hopefully they come

[Wingnut]

Most of the time, people are just uneducated... the rest of the time, they just don't care. :evil: I fished the pier once at Huntington beach a long time ago, never wanted to do it again. Try surf fishing! :wink: :mrgreen:

[Fisher-of-Men]

IF YOU CAN DISTANCE YOURSELF FROM THE CROWDS, YOU WILL HAVE AN ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE 99.9% OF THE TIME. Caps on........sorry! :D

Merry Christmas!

Fisher-of-Men

[CoffeaRobusta]

I knew others on here felt the same way as I do. I like pier fishing, I just don't always like the people (some are cool though). One of the things about pier fishing is that I can hoop too, and since I don't have a boat or kayak yet, my options are limited. It's funny, I almost hit up NPH instead of the pier. Maybe I'll hit that next time. I think I'll just avoid the piers on weekends.

Oh yeah, Wingnut I do hit up the surf too and have had limited success. I've been able to get a few perch, smoothies, and leos using squid, sardines, sandcrabs, and gulp products. I've tried using my kastmaster with no luck. I really like surf fishing though. I like getting wet, the taste of salt, sun, and sand. It's more active than just soakin bait off the pier. Maybe soon. I'll have my own photos to post like you man!

[kichigai1]

Maybe soon. I'll have my own photos to post like you man!

He cheats
trust me I know
:mrgreen: he happens to have a great guide........................................ ME

[Wingnut]

Maybe soon. I'll have my own photos to post like you man!

He cheats
trust me I know
:mrgreen: he happens to have a great guide........................................ ME

Yeah, & Mike's guide service is cheap too, just throw him a couple of LC's! :wink:

[remso]

Next time you are going to the pier you should consider the docks instead.At least there you need a license there which eliminates 1/2 of the people and 1/4 of the others dont even know about the docks.You wont catch macs every cast and you can park 20-30 feet away so if you are so inclined you can run back to your car for a refreshing drink.

I went to Long Beach by the Queen Mary one year, on the 5th of July, It was a mess. I met a couple of guys there who were getting skunked also and they say follow us. We went to dock under a bridge. It said private, so I bought myself some grace by buying some bait at the private store there. :wink: I lost those guys, had a private piece of dock, and had a blast. I caught fish. Here is the problem. That place went away and I would love to do something like that again.

But where?

[Hawkeye5447]

Ill tell you right now why they do it. Ive called the DFG numerous times and i always see them at the beach side of the pier. Simple issue is that the DFG is just to Lazy to walk out to the END. Ive seen it happen a dozen times. Plus i hate not getting anyone but an answering machine on the DFG call line. They are worthless, what are my fishing license dues going to? :bang: :bang: :bang: :explode: :explode: :explode: